To receive news and publication updates for Pain Research and Management, enter your email address in the box below.

Confirmation email sent.

Clinical Optimization in Cancer Pain Management: Different Features of Opioid Analgesics regarding their Efficacy and Adverse Effects

Call for Papers

Chronic pain, especially in cancer patients, still remains an important clinical problem. In spite of a progress in recent years, still too many patients suffer from pain. There are many causes of this situation but a major challenge is still optimal therapy with opioid analgesics, which are indispensable drugs for patients with moderate to severe pain intensity. However, opioids may induce numerous adverse effects (AE), which should be prevented and effectively treated when they appear.

The aim of this special issue is to explore current knowledge on opioid analgesics, including differences between their efficacy, AE, and impact on patients’ quality of life (QoL). A major issue in cancer pain management with opioid analgesics remains to be not only their efficacy but also their profile and intensity of AE. This is associated indirectly with analgesic efficacy (through compliance) and an impact of the treatment on patients’ and caregivers’ QoL.

Opioid analgesics efficacy and safety are also associated with a route of their administration. Therefore, this issue of effectiveness and AE of opioids also refers to how they are administered. Although noninvasive (normally oral and transdermal) routes of opioid administration are preferred several other routes may be used (e.g., parenteral, intrathecal, and topical) in order to improve analgesic efficacy and diminish possible AE.

We call for both original research and up-to-date and state-of-the-art reviews on topics listed below. We encourage both basic scientists to present their important laboratory results that may be transferred to clinic as well as clinicians working with patients to share their knowledge in this special issue.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

Different opioid analgesic efficacy and their AE profile

Different routes of opioid administration

Impact of different opioids on bowel function

New opioids, including those nonopioid components (e.g., tapentadol)

Impact of opioid analgesics treatment on patients’ and careers’ QoL

Opioids and potential misuse: where are differences between the USA and Europe?